Rose-breasted chat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rose-breasted chat
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cardinalidae
Genus:	Granatellus
Species:	G. pelzelni
Binomial name
Granatellus pelzelni Sclater, PL, 1865
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The rose-breasted chat (Granatellus pelzelni) is a small, colorful bird. It belongs to the Cardinalidae family, which includes cardinals and grosbeaks. You can find this bird in several South American countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

About the Rose-breasted Chat

What's in a Name?

Scientists group living things based on their features. The rose-breasted chat's scientific name is Granatellus pelzelni. This bird used to be in a different bird family called New World warblers. But after studying their DNA, scientists moved them to the Cardinalidae family.

The rose-breasted chat is part of a "superspecies" with two other similar birds. These are the red-breasted chat and the grey-throated chat. A superspecies means they are very closely related.

This bird has two types, called subspecies:

• Granatellus pelzelni pelzelni (the main type)
• G. p. paraensis

Some scientists think G. p. paraensis might even be its own separate species. This is because it looks and sounds a bit different.

How to Spot a Rose-breasted Chat

A male rose-breasted chat.

The rose-breasted chat is about 12 to 12.5 centimeters (around 5 inches) long. It weighs about 10 to 12.5 grams, which is like a few paper clips.

Let's look at the main type, G. p. pelzelni:

• Males: They have a black head with a white stripe above their eye. Their back is blue-gray, and their tail is black. Their throat is white, with a thin black line separating it from their bright rose-red chest and belly. White feathers on their sides separate the blue-gray and red colors.
• Females: Their head and back are blue-gray, and their tail is black. Their face, chest, and sides are a rich buff color. Their throat and belly are white.

The other subspecies, G. p. paraensis, is also 12 to 12.5 centimeters long.

• Males: Their head is mostly gray, except for the front part. Their red underside is a deeper color. They have much less or no white on their sides.
• Females: They look almost exactly like the females of the main type.

Where Do They Live?

The main type of rose-breasted chat, G. p. pelzelni, lives in a wide area. You can find it from eastern Colombia, across Venezuela, through the Guianas, and southwest into central and eastern Brazil. It also lives in northern Bolivia.

The G. p. paraensis subspecies lives in far eastern Brazil, east of the Tocantins River.

Both types of chats live in tropical rainforests and at the edges of these forests. They often stay near rivers or lagoons deep inside the forest. The main type also lives in drier forests and older secondary forests (forests that have grown back after being cut down).

Most rose-breasted chats live in low areas. However, some G. p. pelzelni can be found as high as 850 meters (about 2,800 feet) in southern Venezuela. The G. p. paraensis almost always lives in very low areas.

Rose-breasted Chat Behavior

What Do They Eat?

The main type of rose-breasted chat mostly eats insects and other small creatures without backbones. They look for food in the middle and upper parts of trees, but sometimes also closer to the ground. They pick insects off leaves and branches. They also fly out to catch insects in the air. When it's not breeding season, they might join groups of different bird species looking for food together.

We don't know much about what the G. p. paraensis subspecies eats or how it finds food. But scientists think it's probably similar to the main type.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Not much is known about how rose-breasted chats raise their young. We know that one male of the main type was ready to breed in January. Also, a young bird of the main type was seen changing its feathers in early May.

What Do They Sound Like?

The main type of rose-breasted chat sings a song that is "a series of 5–6 clear, sweet notes on one pitch." Their calls sound like a repeated "jrrt."

The G. p. paraensis subspecies has a different song. It alternates between "mellow low-pitched downslurred whistles and harsher short high-pitched notes."

Conservation Status

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) says that both types of rose-breasted chats are of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing.

We don't have exact numbers for how many of the main type exist. But we know they live in several protected areas, which helps keep them safe.

However, the G. p. paraensis subspecies might lose a lot of its home. Scientists think it could lose 22–25% of its suitable habitat in the next 12 years. This is something to watch out for.